The opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
When talking about how digital technology has transformed brands and marketing, most marketers are quick to point to the arrival of new digital marketing channels and the impact of social media. But what about public relations (PR) and search engine optimization (SEO)?
Traditionally, most brand teams considered PR and SEO separately, or even left SEO to the website team. As the two fields become closer, brands are beginning to realize the benefits of integrating PR and SEO.
Related article: 5 high-profile reputational nightmares your brand can learn from
Understanding the relationship between PR and SEO in digital marketing
The American Public Relations Association defines public relations as “a strategic communications process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its public.” Just a few decades ago, PR professionals relied primarily on newspapers, magazines, and broadcast stations to spread their messages. There is now a much wider selection of channels, most of which are digital.
On the other hand, SEO is firmly tied to the digital age. This term describes how teams improve brand visibility and ranking on search engine results pages. As Google says, SEO is “helping search engines understand and display your content.”
Both PR and SEO rely on understanding a brand’s audience and taking a strategic approach to reaching those audiences. While traditionally pursuing that goal separately, brand teams and corporate leadership teams are realizing that combining their efforts can create previously unknown synergies. .
The best marketing strategies have a few things in common. These are built around a central message or series of messages woven throughout the campaign. We also leverage a mix of different (digital) marketing channels to ensure our core message is recognized across all channels. Finally, they are based on a solid strategy and clear goals. Both of these ensure that each strategic element contributes to achieving the objectives.
Use the same principles to integrate PR and SEO to harness the power of public relations to support your search engine rankings. Here are four ways PR can support SEO.
1. Backlinks
Backlinks from top influential websites can change your rankings. So how do you get other websites to link to your girlfriend’s website? Enter your PR. Compelling storytelling is a strength of PR. Use that strength to create content that others want to share on their platform.
Consider blog posts, case studies, or high-quality video content to grab the attention of your target brand. When sharing social media content, don’t be afraid to send a direct link to the brand team or tag relevant brands.
In most cases, you will spend some time building a relationship before someone backlinks to you. Stay the course and you will reap the rewards in the long run.
Related: Why combining public relations and SEO can drive your business in today’s digital environment
2. Keyword research
You don’t have to be an SEO expert to understand the importance of keyword research. Knowing how potential customers search for your company and optimizing your website accordingly is the cornerstone of successful search engine marketing.
For keyword research to be effective, it must include the actual words and search intent that your audience is looking for. Once both are clear, the SEO team should share them with her PO specialist. If you apply keyword research results only to her website, you will be missing out on a large portion of your opportunities.
3. Integrating SEO and content marketing
So-called keyword stuffing no longer works for SEO success. Search engines are looking for well-organized content that provides value to the person who initiates the search. However, that doesn’t mean you should remove his SEO keywords from your PR content.
In the opposite case, a skilled PR professional can leverage your target keywords without compromising your storytelling. Think about thought leadership articles, social media posts, and even press releases. All these forms of content can contribute to higher rankings.
4. Performance monitoring and measurement
Measuring the performance and effectiveness of your efforts is critical to understanding what is working and what needs to be adjusted. First, establish clear key performance indicators (KPIs) so you can benchmark your success and understand where you need to improve.
Most search engines offer a variety of analysis tools to help you understand your performance. Make sure these are configured and ready to monitor activity from the beginning.
best practice
Both PR and SEO require medium- to long-term efforts. Over time, its effects accumulate and become more powerful. That’s why some of the most successful brands started integrating years ago.
For example, as early as 2015, Airbnb built relationships with key influencers and thought leaders to create content that helps users experience major cities and drive traffic to its lodging platform. The content created by these influencers contributed to Airbnb’s search engine rankings.
Inbound marketing and sales platform Hubspot is another example of a brand that has successfully integrated PR and SEO. The company realized in 2017 that its previous approach to SEO was no longer that effective. To maximize the content’s potential in search engine rankings, the team has integrated a proprietary approach, as well as tools used by customers to validate the potential effectiveness of content before they create it. We’ve also built tools to help you.
Related: How to determine your franchise KPIs and achieve profitability
Challenges for successful integration
Successfully integrating public relations and search engine optimization depends on communication between the teams working on both. Traditional corporate structures and the hierarchies that separate them are one of the most common challenges when integrating PR and SEO.
Sharing keyword research, insights, and successful approaches becomes easier when teams share an office or remote working platform. By measuring results in a single dashboard, everyone can see the effectiveness of their efforts right before their eyes.
